Contact Energy said it was an important project to support energy security of supply for all New Zealanders. Read...

A new Wellington café is hoping its subscription coffee offer will be key to finding its feet in a tough hospitality environment. Read...

A new Wellington café is hoping its subscription coffee offer will be key to finding its feet in a tough hospitality environment. Read...

A railway line runs through the middle of the eastern Waikato town, mostly alongside SH27, but it is by the college where two deaths have now taken place. Read...

Your PC will die, someday. Or it will slow down, generate error messages, or — worse still — get hacked. While you could always call a professional, why not solve the problem yourself? And you can, just by learning some basic Windows tasks yourself. You’ve learned how to take care of yourself in the real world. Your PC is no different. You’ll need to maintain it, protect it, and keep it fed with data at all times. Nothing in this checklist is particularly complicated or even hard. But it’s basic knowledge that you should already know. And if you don’t, we’re here to help! Manage Windows Update Windows Update governs all of the changes Microsoft brings to your PC. Some of these are critical updates to Windows itself, needed to solve some unexpected vulnerability or bug. Others are new features that Microsoft wants to add to your PC. Finally, Microsoft periodically adds new virus signatures and other improvements to the Windows Defender anti-malware system, allowing you to surf the web without fear. Windows Update.PixieMe / Shutterstock Most of the time, Microsoft’s Windows Updates take place in the background, without your intervention, as a convenience. But it’s important to know where to look (inside the Windows Settings menu, then in the Windows Update submenu) to understand what Windows Update can and can’t do. Would you like to try out the latest updates as soon as they’re available? Conversely, would you like to pause updates for a certain period, like during an end-of-quarter reporting period or exams? Or even roll them back? Would you like Windows Update to manage other Microsoft products, too? Windows Update is one of the least intensive tasks within Windows. But it’s also critical to the safety of your PC. Dig deep into Windows Settings For that matter, there’s more to the Windows Settings menu than just Windows Update. It’s here that you’ll find all of the features and functionality within Windows, organized into separate categories. Do you want to increase the size of the text because you forgot your glasses? See Settings > Accessibility. Want to pair a new set of earbuds? You’ll find that in Settings > Bluetooth & devices. Windows 11 Sound settings for a specific microphone.PCWorld The number of Windows Settings options may seem overwhelming. On the left-hand side of the Settings menu, however, is a small search box that can help find what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, the search box is looking for specific query topics. (Some alternatives are programmed in: In Windows, your monitor is called a “display” but the search box will recognize both terms.) It’s perfectly fine to complain about how Microsoft or Windows does certain things. But you owe it to yourself to at least see if you can solve the problem yourself. The Windows Settings can help. Stay safe online and within Windows Simply protecting yourself from bad guys is a combination of anonymity, smarts, luck, and common sense. Windows Defender is a solid though not totally foolproof way of protecting yourself online from downloadable malware, and thankfully Microsoft’s app pretty much manages itself. Chris Hoffman/IDG But protecting your digital keys — passwords — via a password manager or some other method is an absolute must in this day and age. The best VPNs hide and encrypt your digital identity, so you can slip surreptitiously past criminals and companies who have no rights to watch you as you surf online. Windows has tools like Windows Sandbox to provide even more protection. Finally, you need to bank on your experience and common sense not to click on every provocative link and email that you see, minimizing your online risk. best vpn overall ExpressVPN Read our review We’re not here to dictate that you must use a VPN or password manager. But there are risks to surfing online, and you should know what Windows provides, what it doesn’t, and what additional options are available to secure your PC — even if you don’t use them. How to back up and restore data Of late, Microsoft Windows has begun pushing hard for you to back up your PC into its OneDrive cloud. For some of you, this is a huge annoyance, as Microsoft has begun flipping on automatic backup by default: on your Desktop, Photos, Documents, and Video folders. That backup process can rob you of available bandwidth and impact the broadband data cap your ISP imposes. Foundry But knowing how OneDrive and backup works, and even restoring that data on a new PC, may save you enormous time and effort as Microsoft simply performs those tasks in the background. Likewise, understanding what apps and data might not be backed up should be something that you take time to learn about, too. Apps typically are not backed up; neither is their associated data. But many games are. To its credit, Microsoft has quietly simplified the process. Autosaving a Microsoft Office (Microsoft 365) document is almost automatic, and you can basically log on to any new PC and automatically provision it to authenticate you to Microsoft 365 and keep working. But it’s still worth knowing what works and what doesn’t. How to install and uninstall software and services These days, “installing” software doesn’t even require you to insert a disk or a DVD-ROM. You simply click an “installer” and the whole process proceeds from there. Windows generally allows installed updates to be uninstalled manually in the event of problems. However, this does not apply to all updates. Microsoft There’s nothing wrong with that. But understanding the nuances of software and services is a must. If everything on phones is an app, much of the PC’s “software” is a subscription. Understanding the difference between the “perpetual” version of Microsoft Office versus the Microsoft 365 subscription that enables it could save you literally hundreds of dollars. Likewise, there’s a difference between installing the “same” game via the Windows Xbox app and Steam; the latter offers timely updates, and the former sometimes doesn’t. You also need to know what apps are automatically backed up to the cloud (Microsoft apps, basically) and what isn’t (everything else). Finally, knowing how to search for and uninstall an app will get rid of space-clogging programs you don’t use, and save storage space that you can put to something else. How to reset your PC Resetting your PC is sort of the culmination of some of these tasks. If your PC is inexplicably slowing down, that may be due to any number of things, including just the accumulation of all the digital flotsam and jetsam from years of work. If all of your files have been backed up to the cloud or a backup drive, resetting a PC basically allows you to start over with a fresh install of Windows. All the clutter? Gone. Jared Newman / Foundry Resetting your PC isn’t something that needs doing every month. And doing so is pretty easy: It’s yet another Windows Settings option (System > Recovery). The process doesn’t take especially long, perhaps 20 minutes or so, depending upon your system. But knowing when to reset, what you’ll need to back up, and the benefits of doing so is knowledge you need. Access your PC’s BIOS/UEFI I doubt that you’ll have to access the BIOS of your PC more than once or twice. It’s the nitty-gritty interface between the operating system and the internals of your PC, a pre-boot environment that allows you to make some basic changes. I myself only used it recently to tweak some UMA frame-buffer settings to boost some performance in an AMD Ryzen system, but normally I leave it alone. Knowing how to tweak your BIOS is a slightly more advanced function, but you should at least know that it’s there, how to access it, and what it’s used for. BIOS on an Asus PC.Mark Hachman / Foundry Understanding browsers and plugins A large portion of our digital lives is lived on the web. On your phone, most providers encourage you to download an app. (Too many, in my opinion.) On Windows, a lot of what you need can be found on the web. But the web often needs some taming. You should know where to go to find browser plugins and/or add-ons: the Chrome Web Store, for example, or Microsoft’s own Edge extensions. Did you know that since much of the web is built upon the open-source Chromium engine, some plugins will work on multiple browsers? Or for that matter, Firefox has its own browser ecosystem of plugins? Many people consider a basic ad blocker a necessity. (Learn how to whitelist, and then whitelist PCWorld.com, while you’re at it.) Extensions for Google Chrome can be flipped on or off, or removed altogether.Marshall Gunnell/IDG Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are certainly fine tools to browse the web. But you should at least have a nodding familiarity with other browser options, what they look like, and what they can do for you. Imagine if every car in the world was free, but you only used a Chevrolet. Wouldn’t you feel just a bit like you missed out? Read...

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An Australian company called Cortical Labs has developed a computer powered by lab-grown human brain cells, Gizmodo reports. The computer, known as CL1, is described as the world’s first “code deployable biological computer” and is now available for pre-order — for a price in the $35,000 range. Don’t want to buy your own device? The company also offers “Wetware-as-a-Service” via which you can rent bio-computer processing power via the cloud. CL1 consists of lab-grown neurons grown on a glass-and-metal electrode array. They’re connected to 59 electrodes, creating a stable neural network. The system is encased in a life support unit that keeps the neurons alive by mimicking the body’s organ functions, including heart pumping, kidney-like waste filtration, and gas mixing of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. According to Cortical Labs, the neurons are placed in a nutrient solution and receive their information from the company’s Biological Intelligence Operating System (biOS), which creates a simulated world in which the neurons receive sensory input and produce responses that affect the environment. CL1 is designed as a high-performance closed loop, where neurons interact with software in real time. The system can stay alive for up to six months and is compatible with USB devices. Cortical Labs demonstrated an early version of the technology by teaching the system to play Pong. They claim that biological computers can rival or surpass digital AI systems, especially when it comes to understanding the basic mechanisms of intelligence. According to the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, Brett Kagan, a network of 120 CL1 devices could give researchers insight into how genes and proteins affect learning. The technology can also be used in drug development and disease modeling by simulating neurological processes at the molecular level. Read...

Experts are assessing the potential fallout for marine species and nearby wildlife populations. Read...

For years, Windows users have complained about “ads” touting Microsoft services, showing up in various places. Now the alarm bells should be seriously ringing: Microsoft has publicly disclosed plans for monstrous ads within Copilot, as well as a roadmap to what appears to be AI-driven advertising, too. Last week, Microsoft’s advertising blog outlined what it called the “future of audience engagement.” And you already know what that is: AI. Microsoft believes that not only will generative AI provide a more natural interface for users to shop, but agents will assist them. It gets worse: Brands may even deploy their own agent AI, too. “We are committed to helping brands create agents and making it easy to connect them to our audiences,” Microsoft wrote, via Windows Central. “As the first step in this journey, we are launching a pilot product that enables brands to create smart, AI-based agents on their websites.” “Imagine if a website could talk?” Microsoft suggested. Microsoft Advertising’s new digital ad format plants ads right next to a Copilot window.Microsoft It’s hard to say what’s worse: having a virtual version of Elon Musk knock on your virtual screen and offer to help buy you a Tesla, or just a giant ad pop up once you start digging around for the best EV available. But that’s coming, too. Microsoft now says that it has two new ad formats, “entirely designed with Copilot in mind,” it said. “These ads are interactive in nature, adapting to each user input.” The first is what Microsoft calls an “Advertising Showroom” ad, which appears nothing more than a giant ad alongside a Copilot text box. “For example, if a user starts asking questions to Copilot about a particular product and expresses purchase intent, they may be invited to enter a Showroom ads experience,” Microsoft says. “Here, rich sponsored content complements the organic experience, helping to showcase the product benefits as people ask Copilot more questions. This immersive environment allows users to interact with products in a way that closely mirrors the experience of visiting a physical showroom. In the future, the experience will be even richer, as brand agents will be integrated into the Showroom ads allowing people to engage directly with a virtual brand representative.” Suggested ads within Copilot would dynamically create new ways to shop, Microsoft believes.Microsoft Microsoft is also testing dynamic filters, which apparently is designed to narrow down a search to something you can buy: “This feature removes the friction of typing additional questions and quickly narrows down options that are more likely to drive conversions based on an individual’s preferences,” Microsoft said. But it appears that advertisers won’t even have to buy ads. Instead, Microsoft will create them, just for you! Microsoft has started to create what are known as Dynamic Seach ads, using queries as a basis to crate ads. In the future, Microsoft says, the company will “personalize ads,” such as location and seasonal events, specifically for each user’s context. Time and again, we’ve written features that show you how to turn off ads within Windows. But Microsoft’s new vision for the future of ads — start chatting with Copilot, and a digital gremlin will show up, pushing you to buy the latest sneaker, cereal, or credit card — sure doesn’t seem to be consistent with what Microsoft has said before. Save us, ad blockers! Read...